05/07/26

Galatians 1:10 Paul had just emphasized that if anyone preaches any other gospel than the one they welcomed, let God’s curse fall upon him. Now the apostle assures them of his intent that is to persuade them with the true gospel. “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of the Christ.” In other words, Paul is saying, “You can see that I am not trying to please you with sweet talk and flattery; no, I am trying to please God.” If I were still trying to please men, I could not be the Christ’s servant. This is a pivotal transition in Paul’s letter, in which he defends his motives and apostolic authority against accusations that he is a “people-pleaser.”

In so doing, Paul addresses critics (likely the “Judaizers”) who claimed he watered down the Gospel by not requiring Gentile converts to be circumcised in order to win their favor. Paul uses two rhetorical questions and a definitive closing statement to refute this. So, he asks them if he is currently seeking the approval of men or of God. By his previous harsh language (calling down a curse on those preaching a false gospel in verses 8-9), he demonstrates that his priority is clearly God’s truth, not human popularity. Paul concludes that if he were still trying to please people, he would not be a “bondservant” of the Christ. In the biblical context, a servant has only one master; therefore, the desire for human applause and the service of the Christ are fundamentally incompatible.

^“But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which I preached is not according to man, for I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus the Christ.” (vv. 11-12). Here, the Apostle Paul provides a defense of his apostolic authority by asserting the divine origin of his message. These verses serve as the thesis for the autobiographical section that follows, where Paul proves he did not receive his gospel from human teachers or institutions. He begins by certifying his honesty, saying, “I make known to you.” This formula is intended to draw special attention to a statement of grave importance. He insists that the gospel he preached is “not man-made,” meaning it did not originate from human reasoning, invention, or cultural standards.

Then, Paul asserts that the Gospel he preaches is not a human invention, tradition, or a message taught to him by other apostles. Instead, he received it directly through a supernatural revelation from Jesus the Christ, establishing his authority as an apostle and ensuring the message’s divine purity. He did this to defend his apostleship against false teachers (Judaizers) in Galatia who argued that Paul was not one of the original 12 disciples and was preaching a diluted, unauthorized message. Paul counters that because his message did not come from human sources, it is absolutely authoritative and true.  This also means that the gospel of grace—salvation by faith in the Christ alone—is not subject to change or human manipulation, as it originated from God Himself

And last, he distinguishes himself from those who might be commissioned by human organizations. By all this, he means that the gospel came “through the revelation of Jesus the Christ. The Greek word for “revelation” refers to an “uncovering” or “unveiling” of something previously hidden. Some commentators believe that this revelation likely refers to his dramatic encounter on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9), where Jesus the Christ directly revealed His identity and the message of justification by faith to him. 

What spiritual implications do we see in these verses? They teach us that true servants of God must prioritize pleasing God over seeking human approval, and that the Gospel is a divine revelation from Christ, not a human invention. It emphasizes serving Christ exclusively, rejecting compromising messages, and finding authority in scripture rather than societal trends. These verses also highlight that the Gospel stands firm, and in a world where trends shift and sermons meant to please the ears of mankind are heard, believers are called to hold fast to the original message of Jesus the Christ as revealed in God’s Word.